A terrorist gang seizes control of a luxury hotel in central London taking its staff and guests hostage, their demands are simple; bring British troops home from the Middle East or the hotel will be blown up. Over the next few tense hours a disparate group of guests and staff struggle to survive whilst the authorities try to negotiate with the terrorists just as worrying divisions begin to appear within the group.

This could only be the set-up for another high concept thriller from the pen of Simon Kernick. Anyone thinking there are similarities between the plot of this novel and the terrorist attacks in Mumbai some years ago would be correct, this gives the book an added edge of authenticity; scarily something like this could actually happen.

Pace is key to thrillers of this sort and Kernick keeps things moving at the speed of an out of control roller coaster. He throws his characters, and readers, into situations where a split second decision could mean life or death time and time again.

Kernick’s prose style is spare to the point of being emaciated, not a single word is wasted when it comes to driving the plot forward. This can, sometimes, lead to characterisation that is somewhat sketchy; this though is less of a problem that it might be since most readers, and this reviewer, tend to be too caught up in the action to notice.

This is a solidly researched and genuinely thrilling book that draws inspiration from the fears and threats that stalk any of the world’s major cities.

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